Francis Taylor, Baron Taylor of Hadfield
Encyclopedia
Francis Taylor, Baron Taylor of Hadfield (7 January 1905 - 15 February 1995) is best known as being the founder of Taylor Woodrow
Taylor Woodrow
Taylor Woodrow was one of the largest British housebuilding and general construction companies. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but merged with rival George Wimpey to create Taylor Wimpey on 3 July 2007.-Early years:Frank Taylor was...

, a leading international contractor and developer.

Career

He was born in Hadfield
Hadfield, Derbyshire
Hadfield is a parish and small residential town in High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It lies very close to the River Etherow which forms the border between Derbyshire and Greater Manchester...

, near Glossop
Glossop
Glossop is a market town within the Borough of High Peak in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the Glossop Brook, a tributary of the River Etherow, about east of the city of Manchester, west of the city of Sheffield. Glossop is situated near Derbyshire's county borders with Cheshire, Greater...

 in Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

 on 7 January 1905. By the age of 11 he was operating his father's fruit business. The family moved to Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...

 where at the age of 16, with help from his father and a bank, he spent £400 developing two houses which he sold at a substantial profit (£1000 each). This was the beginning of the business which Frank Taylor founded, to which his uncle Jack Woodrow also lent his name, now known as Taylor Woodrow
Taylor Woodrow
Taylor Woodrow was one of the largest British housebuilding and general construction companies. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but merged with rival George Wimpey to create Taylor Wimpey on 3 July 2007.-Early years:Frank Taylor was...

.

In 1974 he was given a knighthood. In 1979 he resigned as managing director and became life president; he was elevated to the peerage in 1982 as Baron Taylor of Hadfield.

Lord Taylor of Hadfield continued to hold the position of Life President until his death on 15 February 1995, when he was visiting a company housing development, the 3-500 homes flagship 'Meadows' development with a golf course in Sarasota, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

.

Family

Taylor's second wife, Christine, who was also involved with Taylor Woodrow, lived with her daughter Sarah Melville until she died in 2011.
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